Tata Steel has delayed its sale process to offload its beleaguered º£½ÇÊÓƵ arm which includes two factories in the Black Country.
The Financial Times reports that the firm has pushed back the timetable for making a final decision on the future of its º£½ÇÊÓƵ steel operations until next month.
It comes as the company continues to haggle over more government concessions to persuade it to retain the business, the FT reports.
Tata Steel announced in March that it wanted to sell its loss-making º£½ÇÊÓƵ arm which includes a bright bar factory in Wednesbury and a coated narrow strip plant in Walsall.
Collectively, they employ around 800 people and Tata Steel also operates the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's largest steel plant in Port Talbot, South Wales, where it has 4,000 staff.
Tata Steel by the collapse in the price of steel products coupled with high energy costs and climate change policies.
The company was due to unveil a shortlist this week and its preferred bidder later this month but now this is set roll into July.
Tata Steel º£½ÇÊÓƵ are a management team called Excalibur Steel º£½ÇÊÓƵ and Liberty House, the commodities trading firm which acquired
A Tata Steel spokesman said: "Tata Steel is committed to running a thorough and urgent sale process for its º£½ÇÊÓƵ business.
"That remains the case today. Negotiations about various aspects of the sales process continue with interested parties."
